Carbonized: VB
by Cross436
Summary: (This is a "spin-off" of Carbonized.) Joshua Carter recently lost a close friend, Neville. On top of that, he tried to murder the man he believed responsible. Unable to cope with the burden of the memories, Josh leaves his home, Palmont City, behind him, and travels to Ventura Bay to escape the past.
Josh woke up in a daze, his head feeling heavy. His head falling back on his pillow, Josh tried once more to get up, with using his arms this time; but they also felt heavy. He managed to push himself up, sitting on the edge of the bed, hanging his head. "I feel like crap. Pretty sure I look like it too." Josh thought. Standing up, Josh grabbed whatever out of his drawer and went to shower.

Feeling a little better, Josh sat on the hood of the tarp-covered Corvette. There was no way to describe the way he felt, after attempting murder last night. His two friends, Sal and Collin, had distanced themselves, as a way to let Josh cope with Neville's passing. Josh's cell began vibrating in his pocket, derailing his train of thought. "Hello?" Josh answered, trying to sound as normal as possible. "Hey Josh. It's Nikki." The woman on the other end responded. After a brief silence, Nikki continued. "I just wanted to let you know that Neville's funeral is this Wednesday, that if-" "Yeah, I'll be there." Josh interrupted Nikki, his voice soft. "I'll, uh… I'll see you then, Josh." Nikki finished quietly before hanging up. Putting his cell back in his pocket, Josh hung his head once more, and closed his eyes.

The next few days went by like a blur for Josh, and Wednesday was at hand. Putting on the black tie he had bought that day Nikki called him, Josh looked at his reflection and sighed. Putting on his black with white strips leather jacket, Josh took the keys to his Supra, and headed out to the church, to begin what would be a long and hard day for him. The sky was a pure blue, except for a few cirrus clouds. The air was cool and crisp, a beautiful day, really. But nothing was beautiful about a funeral.

Pulling up to the church, Josh saw rows of cars. Collin and Sal were there, along with Nikki. Surprisingly, Darius' Audi was there, and so was Angie's Charger. Josh parked right in front, next to Nikki's Ford GT. Killing the engine, Josh looked in the mirror and ran his fingers through his dark brown hair one last time. Getting out of the car, Josh closed the door and proceeded to the front doors. Pulling the dark brown, wooden left door open, soft noise greeted Josh's ears. Yet upon people noticing him entering, the room fell silent. The door closed softly behind him, the only sound made. Among that crowd, Josh found Nikki quickly; she gave a small smile, her bright brown eyes seemed to droop. Josh walked forward, the crowd parting for him. Taking his seat, Josh looked to his side; unable to bring himself to look at the coffin.

The service was short. "Too short," Josh thought. Despite not being able to look at the coffin earlier, Josh helped carry it, along with Darius, Sal, and Collin from the hearse to the burial site. Josh sat in the front row, mere feet away. The priest spoke some kind words about Neville while the crowd sat silent. Eventually, Josh went before the crowd. "I, uh… Um…" He began. "Neville was a great friend." Josh said, letting silence fill the area once more. "He always had my back. He had my back at my lowest point, and my only regret was that I wasn't able to help him." Josh continued, a cool breeze passing around the crowd. His eyes beginning to water, Josh walked off, unable to stay any longer. Taking his car keys out, Josh took off as fast as he possibly could have.

It didn't matter where he ended up. He just wanted to drive and not look back. Josh's aimless driving lasted till the sky was black, and the stars were out. His heart ended up taking him to the observatory. Getting out, he walked over to the lookout point, and let the cool breeze calm him. Silence ensued for who knows how long, until a familiar female voice broke it. "I had a feeling you'd end up here." Josh turned his head to the left, and it was none other than Nikki. She had her funeral dress on, covered by her brown long coat. Josh looked back to the Palmont lights. Nikki leaned on the railing beside him, letting silence take over. "I don't know what to say Josh. I'm sorry. It's-" "Just drop it, Nikki. I…" Josh interrupted, dismissing his sentence. "… Are you upset about Darius?" Nikki asked after a moment of silence. Josh didn't answer, his expression turning angry as a response. Josh walked off, Nikki turning to follow. "No! Don't." He responded, not looking Nikki in the eye. "Josh, I just want to help-" "You have done nothing but be rude and insulting since I showed my face again. It was a mistake to come back." Josh retorted before storming off to his Supra.

Placing his luggage inside the cabinet, Josh sat down. The plane was relatively empty, which he was okay with. "Hello passengers, this is your captain speaking. Please sit down, and remain seated until we have reached our cruising altitude of 39,000 feet." Josh placed his headphones in his ears, reaching in his coat pocket. Pulling out a folded paper, he unfolded it, and looked at the paper once more. On it, was a receipt, and one plane ticket to Ventura Bay.

 **Cross436 here. This is something I've been thinking of doing. I recently started playing the newest NFS, and I think it's pretty good. Anyways, off topic, I was playing and got to thinking "What if Josh went to Ventura Bay?" I liked the idea, but I didn't like the idea of turning the whole story that way. So I'm going to be smart about this, and make this it's own separate story, a "What-If" kind of story. The first chapter here and the latest on Carbonized are identical, minus the last paragraph. If you like this, and haven't read Carbonized, please go do so, it'd be a great help to me as an author. Thank you, sorry for the long AN, hope you liked, peace.**


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